Dominick Costa, a pastry chef whoâs competed on a Food Network show, said heâs still working to open Seaside Sweets & Treats even though his Kickstarter effort only raised $520 of his $75,000 goal. (Courtesy image | Dominick Costa).

"Our intentions for Seaside are still the same - we just have to find another way to get it open," he said Wednesday.

Dominick Costa (Courtesy photo)

He and partner Tyler Primrose have a lease agreement on a storefront at 3 E. Third St. through early September. He said he's now working to get other financing for the business, possibly from the Rising Tide Community Loan Fund.

"We want to have something going for the next school year," said Costa, who said he likes the East Third Street storefront because it's near Lehigh University and the Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts, his alma mater.

Costa, 27, grew up in the Lehigh Valley and had been working as a pastry chef in New York City for eight years before moving back home to pursue his own business. He competed on Food Network's "Sweet Genius" and is a graduate of the French Culinary Institute.